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With political strife almost palpable, the landmark 1860 US Presidential campaign moved through a series of pivotal moments where the direction and fate of the union vacillated between unity and conflict, meanwhile an atmosphere of distrust and apprehension loomed over the populations of the North and South. Opposing views on slavery, economics, and state rights were championed vehemently by representatives from both sides of the political fence. The political cauldron of 1860 bubbled up much more negativity, mudslinging, name calling, nasty remarks, outrageous claims, and defamation of character, than any of the prior presidential campaigns. In some ways, not much has changed in politics in over a century, except the media format and the speed of distribution. The long tradition of tossing barbs back and forth between candidates is alive and kicking in 2012. Back in 1860, print was king, and pamphlets provided an inexpensive manner in which to quickly disseminate opinions, ideology, and persuasive rhetoric. This pamphlet, The election of a Black Republican president :an overt act of aggression on the right of property in slaves : the South urged to adopt concerted action for future safety, by James Philemon Holcombe, a Professor of Law and Confederate Politician from Virginia, is a truly fascinating example of the type of rhetoric taking place at the time. Holcombe spoke fervently in favor of slavery and tried to incite the Southern population to resist what he saw as the the “evil” of a Black Republican Party. Ironically, Holcombe’s own parents did not support the perpetuation of the Southern slave system, having already freed their own slaves years before and relocated to the free state of Indiana. Nonetheless, Holcombe was vocal and committed to this cause and used his pamphlet as a venue for expressing his consternation over the election of a “Black Republican” president. At that time, the term “Black Republican” did not indicate an actual African American politician, but referred to those members of the Republican Party who were sympathetic to the abolitionist movement. Today, the pamphlet may appear to possess a bit of anachronistic irony, especially with the course of history in the Republican and Democratic parties over the past 150 years, as well as the forthcoming 2012 Presidential election involving an incumbent “Black” Democratic President running for re-election.

Holcombe statements foreshadow the inevitable war to come:

“Between the North and the South there is no real antagonism, but the Black Republican organization proceeds upon the assumption of one. It declares that between the free labor of the North, and the slave labor of the South an irrepressible conflict must take place until one gives way to the other.”

“Is there anything short of this, which would be a more serious aggression, whether we look at its immediate or future consequences, than the election of a Black Republican President ? Can men be in earnest who declare that this would not be for every substantial purpose, an overt act of injustice ? Would it not be a declaration by the Northern people of their final and deliberate intention to deprive us of our rights and privileges under the constitution, as ascertained and settled by the judgment of the highest court in the land?”

“If it is meant that we should remain in the Union,and resist the inauguration of a Black Republican President byforce, a more dangerous and injudicious policy could not, in myjudgment, be suggested. The appeal to arms must necessarilylead to a general civil war, of which no man could foresee theend.“

Description:

Holcombe, James Philemon. The election of a Black Republican president :an overt act of aggression on the right of property in slaves : the South urged to adopt concerted action for future safety. Richmond : C.H. Wynne, Printer, 1860.